Kevin Ford
Compliance & Enforcement, Gisborne District Council
Kevin Ford is an experienced investigator with decades of operational experience in interviewing, investigation, and information gathering across both policing and regulatory environments.
Kevin’s career with New Zealand Police, where he investigated serious and complex crime and provided training to police staff in interviewing techniques, established a strong foundation in investigative practice, communication, and evidence gathering.
This work involved engaging with people from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, often in complex and sensitive situations.
He has since applied these skills in his role with Gisborne District Council, conducting complex compliance investigations and gathering evidence to support fair, robust, and well-informed regulatory decision-making.
The Basics Are the Breakthrough
As environmental regulation becomes more complex, one constant remains, effective compliance depends on effective information gathering.
Whether responding to fast-moving incidents, navigating complex investigations, or engaging with communities and consent holders, CME officers rely on strong interviewing skills to make defensible, evidence-based decisions. Returning to these fundamentals is essential for maintaining integrity, consistency, and public trust in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
In this practical and engaging session, former police detective Kevin Ford draws on 37 years of serious-crime investigative experience to demonstrate what best practice information gathering looks like in the field.
Participants will learn structured interviewing techniques, how to ask purposeful questions, how to read behavioural cues, and how to avoid common pitfalls that can compromise the quality of evidence.
The session also explores how to gather accurate information from people who may be evasive, stressed, or reluctant to engage, skills that directly support effective CME practice and help officers avoid the risks of regulatory capture by maintaining objectivity and professional distance.
Kevin will share why officers should never accept “no” as the end of an inquiry, and why the moment you’re in may be the only opportunity to uncover the truth. These techniques strengthen the foundations of CME by supporting consistent decision making, improving engagement across the compliance divide, and enhancing officers’ confidence when interacting with the regulated community.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to apply proven interviewing frameworks, recognise behavioural indicators, and use detective-level information-gathering strategies that reinforce best practice, support robust compliance outcomes, and contribute to a more effective, trusted regulatory system.